PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Zubair Tukhugov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Luca Rinaldi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Tukhugov might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Ed Sheeran – I See Fire. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Luca Rinaldi was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Tukhugov
vs
Rinaldi

179 cm
23
185 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

180 cm
28
190 lbs
5 - 8 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Cuts easily

Good wrestler
Brawler
Knockout power

Bad Man Clothing (Nothing Over $40)
Big Bear Amsterdam 160Q

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Zubair Tukhugov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Luca Rinaldi!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Matheus Silva and Paulo Santos.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Tukhugov tries to sprawl but Rinaldi drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Rinaldi drops an elbow to the side of Tukhugov's head.
Rinaldi controlling the action here.
Tukhugov on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Tukhugov tries to get out of the position.
Rinaldi looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Tukhugov is looking for a sweep. Rinaldi is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rinaldi keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tukhugov wants to sweep but Rinaldi has passed to side control!
Rinaldi lands a nice forearm strike.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Rinaldi controlling the position.
Tukhugov is trying to control Rinaldi's posture but Rinaldi avoids it.
We've been hearing good reports from Tukhugov's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Rinaldi looks up at the clock and then as Tukhugov takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Rinaldi smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rinaldi throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Rinaldi tries to advance to mount but Tukhugov denies him.
Tukhugov is trying to get back to half guard.
Rinaldi is staying tight to Tukhugov's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Tukhugov takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Rinaldi scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Tukhugov to see if he's OK.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tukhugov tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Rinaldi wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Rinaldi has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Tukhugov is not content to let Rinaldi control the position.
Tukhugov takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Rinaldi cracks Tukhugov with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Tukhugov tries to buck Rinaldi off but Rinaldi is having none of it.
Tukhugov is not content to let Rinaldi control the position.
A lull in the action here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rinaldi misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Rinaldi cracks Tukhugov with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Rinaldi content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Let's hope that Rinaldi has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Luca Rinaldi dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Rinaldi doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Rinaldi takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Rinaldi shoots in for a double leg but Tukhugov sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
It appears Tukhugov was looking to counter with a kick there.
Tukhugov lands with a hook. Rinaldi tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.

Tukhugov gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Rinaldi to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Rinaldi wants to pass the guard but Tukhugov is keeping the position.
Rinaldi throws a big right hand that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tukhugov trying to keep a closed guard but Rinaldi is proving a slippery customer.
Rinaldi passes Tukhugov's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rinaldi is thwarting Tukhugov's attempts to control the position.
Tukhugov knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Rinaldi on the ground.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
We're seeing a lot of stalling here from Rinaldi.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Zubair Tukhugov is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Rinaldi will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Zubair Tukhugov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Luca Rinaldi.
Tukhugov fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Rinaldi on the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Rinaldi with a poor takedown
and Tukhugov counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Rinaldi shoots for a double leg takedown but Tukhugov sprawls well. He's pushed Rinaldi's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Tukhugov stalks Rinaldi and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Rinaldi's face. Rinaldi staggers backwards, shaken.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Rinaldi closes this distance looking for a takedown but Tukhugov circles away.
Tukhugov lands a jab to the head.
Rinaldi fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Tukhugov went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Rinaldi is breathing heavily.
Tukhugov bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Rinaldi's head backwards.
A nice combination there by Tukhugov.
Rinaldi changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Tukhugov tries to avoid it but Rinaldi manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Tukhugov to the ground. Tukhugov escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Rinaldi shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Tukhugov but Tukhugov pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Tukhugov uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Rinaldi has time to react.

Rinaldi is rocked!
Tukhugov with a hook.
Rinaldi is still on wobbly legs! Can Tukhugov finish him?

Tukhugov darts in and clinches Rinaldi up against the ropes.
Rinaldi seems to have recovered his senses.
Tukhugov pushes Rinaldi back against the ropes and lands a hook to the side of the head.

Tukhugov breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rinaldi darts in looking for a takedown but Tukhugov gets double underhooks and turns Rinaldi into the ropes.
Tukhugov scores with a crisp jab that stopped Rinaldi in his tracks.
Rinaldi takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Tukhugov lands an uppercut out of nowhere! Rinaldi falls backwards - clearly groggy! Tukhugov dives in and finishes the fight with more strikes for a TKO finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:19 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Zubair Tukhugov!
A loyal slave to those sponsorship dollars, Zubair Tukhugov made sure he mentioned Bad Man Clothing (Nothing Over $40), along with how happy he was to win his fight.